Oenanthe crocata
species of plant
Oenanthe crocata, hemlock water-dropwort (sometimes known as dead man's fingers) is a flowering plant in the carrot family, native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. It grows in damp grassland and wet woodland, often along river and stream banks. All parts of the plant are extremely toxic and it has been known to cause human and livestock poisoning.
Description
Hemlock water-dropwort is a robust hairless perennial growing up to 150 cm tall with hollow, cylindrical, grooved stems up to 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) across. The stems are often branched. The upper part of the roots include five or more obovoid, pale yellow, fleshy tubers up to 6 centimetres (2.4 in) long, which exude a yellowish oily fluid when cut that stains the skin.
The lower leaves are 3–4 times pinnate, triangular, with oval toothed leaflets 10–20 millimetres (0.39–0.79 in) long, that are basally tapered to the stalk (cuneate). The upper leaves are 1–2 pinnate, with narrower lobes and a shorter petiole (leaf stalk). All the leaves are spirally arranged and have petioles that are slightly sheathing around the stem. The leaves have a characteristically deceptive odour of parsley or celery.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Oenanthe crocata” as species of plant. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of plant. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1818309. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Oenanthe crocata” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.